I’ve been thinking a lot about mental health this week. It started with Wednesday’s post, which featured a “check your battery” meme. And then, yesterday, I posted about becoming your truest self (with the help of a gorgeous new song from NEEDTOBREATHE), and then last night I came across a video on Facebook posted by my colleague the Rev. Mark Chiang, who was a year ahead of me in studies at Knox College back in the day.

Mark shared about how quarantine has been affecting him, and about how the removal of some of his normal outlets (leading church, participating in meetings, and enjoying social gatherings, for example) had him feeling less present and more angry – not angry at anyone specific, but just generally angry.

I appreciated his vulnerability and honesty. He also spoke a bit about how the ‘reopening’ steps were causing him some anxiety. I felt that.

A few weeks ago, one of my elders asked me how much I was looking forward to getting a haircut when it was allowable. And my answer was – “I mean, I want a haircut as much as anyone else (maybe more than most!), but I don’t think I’ll be rushing right out to get one. I think I’ll wait a week or two, and see how things go.”

And when the announcement was made that Toronto and Peel (because my hair salon is in Brampton, which is Peel Region), were entering Phase 2, it took less than an hour before my hair dresser called. I booked for almost exactly two weeks from that day. On the one hand, I’m pretty swamped right now as I get ready to go away on some summer vacation. On the other hand, I just knew I needed time to process the newly relaxed ‘rules.’

I’ve known for a long time that I’m a process thinker. I need time to process new concepts, new experiences, new ideas. It takes time before I know what I think or what I want to do, in just about every situation I ever face.

And that’s ok. I know this about myself, and as I grow older I’m getting better at saying what I need (“Can I have a day or two to think about that?” is a phrase that literally saves my life regularly!).

My point, in all this, is that you may be just like me, or the exact opposite. Either way – you’re allowed to be the way you are. You’re allowed to ask for what you need. You’re allowed to do things at your own pace, to ensure that you can do them to the best of your ability.

You are absolutely allowed to learn new things about how God made you! And you’re absolutely allowed to be different than others.

Nothing you learn about you will come as a surprise to the One who made you. What a gift that He knows us even better than we know ourselves, that He made us and that we know He doesn’t make junk!

Until tomorrow, dear friends, be encouraged even in the midst of your struggles. Know that nothing about you surprises God or makes Him love you less. Keep on going, keep on growing, keep on learning!

If you’ve been following the blog recently, you know I’m very much anticipating a new album by NEEDTOBREATHE, one of my favourite bands.

In the midst of all that is going on in the world – whether virus, racism, or murder hornets – they continue to release songs in advance of the album, and talk about how this felt like a time when they needed to get the songs to their fans ASAP. I love that – because the band members understand how much their music means to people like me. People who might be feeling a little wear and worn and sad. People who need some inspirational music to help them along the way.

So today, they released a new song, but I also found this post from them on facebook (I recognize it’s from a few weeks ago, and references the higher tension those days were feeling around racism protests), and I thought it was just such a great testimony in the midst of these days:

“Giving our souls to the most important seat at the table,” is another way of saying ‘following Jesus, being on His mission.’ Saying that “humility is a gateway to love,” is another way of talking about the sacrificial life of Jesus, how his sacrifice reconciles us to God, and opens the gates of the purest love there is (God loving us with steadfast, endless, dedication).

The new song is entitled “Who am I,”:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep journeying towards your truest self – who God made you to be! And love others, just as God has loved you!

I saved this on my phone many weeks ago, and just re-discovered it while looking for something else. I realized it’s been a while since I did a mental health post, so that’s what’s up today!

By now, we all know that the realities of COVID-19 are going to be with us for a while. We have been hearing the term “new normal” for a long while. Today, Toronto was allowed to enter Phase 2 of the re-opening. And while it did my heart good to see news reports of people enjoying the patios in our city, going for hair cuts, and wandering through malls, I have to admit, it also makes me anxious.

I know that I’m risk-averse. I like to plan, I like to have back-ups on my back-ups, I don’t like risk. And as long as COVID-19 is around, risk is all around us. So even as some things return to some semblance of routine, I’m still taking my time. For example – I’ve booked my hair appointment…for two weeks from now. I just wasn’t up to being the first person in line. And if, for any reason, I don’t feel up to it when the day comes – I will reschedule. It’s that simple.

All of that to say, in this crazy 2020 world of ours, it is deeply important to be aware of what your energy level is (it can change day to day, or even hour to hour!), and how you need to take care of yourself on any given day.

It’s ok if you need a little more time (or a lot more!) before you are ready to do some of the things that are “allowable” now. It’s ok if you need to protect your energy. It’s ok to move at your own pace, to set good boundaries and to be kind to yourself.

Remember, God loves you dearly. God loves you as if you were his only child (while simultaneously loving everyone else the same way! WOW! God is awesome!). If God – who is all-knowing and all-powerful – chooses to love you that much, don’t you think you owe yourself a little love, too?

Until tomorrow, dear friends, check your battery, and love you, because God sure does!

You know that saying – you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s hit home a lot over the last hundred days. I made a commitment to my Session and my congregation that I would blog every day while we were unable to meet in person for worship. At the time I thought I might be blogging for a month.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Now I’ve been at it for a hundred days. It’s a measure of time that the States use to take stock of what a new President has accomplished as their term begins.

So maybe it’s a good idea to take stock of the things that I’ve learned during one hundred days of blogging:

1. It ain’t easy! Seriously, there have been days I have stared at a blank screen for hours before I finally came up with an idea of what to write about. There were times when the technology fought with me and my posts were late. There were days when I thought I was blogging about one thing, only to write about something totally different. But despite the difficulty, I do believe it has been worth it. And isn’t that a great life lesson – sometimes it’s difficult, but if it’s worth it, keep going!
   
2. Come up with a plan. At the beginning, the only plan I had was to blog every day. As time went on, I figured out that I needed a plan – some days that I worked a little harder so that I could afford to take some other days off. I learned that having a routine around certain days (ie Meme Monday, Worship Resource Saturday, and Worship Sunday) would lighten the load overall because I wouldn’t feel the pressure to come up with an idea those days – I’d just have to fulfill the mandate of the day. Yeah. That’s sounding like another life lesson: being organized, having a plan and a routine, makes life easier to deal with in general.
   
3. Change is constant, and that’s not a bad thing. When I began blogging I planned on only doing a little sermon video on Sundays. But when it became apparent that in-person worship would be suspended for quite a while, our musician Eric Medhurst stepped up and offered some music to add to the blog. And then one of our elders asked if she might contribute a video scripture reading. And now, when you come to the blog on Sunday morning, there is a whole little service there. It’s in pieces and you have to ‘assemble’ it yourself, (I like calling it an IKEA service – some assembly required), but it’s there. And it’s only possible because things have continued to change. So life lesson number three: things will always change, be willing to learn and adapt and grow!

I still don’t know what I don’t know. I was chatting with a colleague this morning and we were both wondering what church will be like when we are able to meet again. None of us know.

But here’s what I am sure of: faith will continue, God will be with us, our story isn’t over yet.

Until tomorrow, dear friends – trust in the Good Shepherd!

I spent a good half hour going through my phone before working on this post. I found about 110 images, cartoons and memes that I’d saved over the last few months, which (I’m pretty sure!) I haven’t used yet for a Meme Monday or for the basis for a blog post. Yay! Here are a few from the newly-minted “meme Monday possibilities” album on my phone.

These thoughts on 2020:

Am I the only one? Apologies to Tracey, Luke and Naiel, who get all my I-can’t-post-this-without-getting-in-trouble-but-my-friends-would-find-it-hysterical memes:

This totally cracked me up:

This reaction to the “no singing or dancing on patios in Ontario” (if you don’t get it, I’m not sure we can be friends…sigh. Hint: Footloose!)

This reminder of what we are called to do, even in unprecedented times:

This truth:

This lovely piece from Radio Free Babylon:

And finally, this blessing for your day:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, do this ⬆️!

Welcome! I am glad you have come to spend some time in worship today. A reminder that our Session and Board at Graceview Presbyterian Church met this week and unanimously passed a motion to continue to worship online instead of in-person until at least September 2020. We will reassess in Mid-Late August. Worship will continue to be posted here every Sunday. I have a couple of cool projects on the go, so keep checkin’ in and there will be some surprises to share in the coming weeks.

Today we continue our series looking at what the Scriptures have to say to us and what tools our life of following Jesus can supply us with for these hard times.

Let’s begin with Eric’s prelude, which is Beethoven’s “Adagio cantabile,” Op.13, second movement.

A prayer, to settle our hearts:

Our first hymn today is #685 How firm a foundation:

Our Scripture is read for us this week by Errol Baldeo, Matthew 10:26-31:

The sermon:

And our final hymn is #438 When morning gilds the skies:

Dear friends, until tomorrow, keep your eyes on Jesus, keep looking Him full in the face, keep trusting in His steadfast love, and let the things of earth grow dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Here are a few resources to prepare your hearts for tomorrow’s worship. As always, I pray that God will speak to you personal as we gather (by digital means) in worship.

So, you could argue that this song isn’t worship. It could be a song of romance…that probably was the original intent (and certainly some of the lyrics lean that way, or don’t fit with what I’m about to say…). But I am always reminded of the Biblical phrase “the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever,” when I listen to it. I find myself comforted, as I listen and sing along, by knowing God is always there for me (for all of us). So I’m going to present it to you as what God sings over each of us “I’m forever on your side!” (Plus I can’t get enough of sharing one of my favourite bands, NEEDTOBREATHE) :

My friend Shelagh has been hard at work again this week, and one of the great things she’s done is directing this Leap of Faith Band version of Be Thou My Vision:

Here is a delightful link to an online colouring resource (you can also download and print a copy of this colouring page here):

http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/be-joyful-in-hope-patient-in-affliction-faithful-in-prayer?colore=online

And, finally, a couple of thoughts on worship from a couple of experts on the matter (Chris Tomlin is a writer and performer of contemporary worship music. John Ortberg is a Presbyterian minister, author and theologian.):

Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you know the wonder and gratitude of a life spent following Jesus; and may you know that God longs for your heart to be after (as in pursuing) Him.

Somedays I just don’t have a lot of words in me. But that’s ok. Because there are others who have really great words. Some of those words were set down in a library called The Bible ages ago:

Others have been written by pilgrims on the same journey as most of us. And their words are like a compass to guide us through the wilderness:

Today, I am thankful for the words of others. For the way their words can convey what I’m not able to express.

Until tomorrow, dear friends, give thanks to the Lord, praise His name, and trust that you are on the way, no matter how far along it (or not far along it) you may be.

I love this…the idea of story is incredibly important to my theology. Sometimes we think of story as being untrue – but that’s not the case. We all have stories we tell: of the day a beloved member of our family was born (I don’t have kids of my own, but you better believe I tell the stories of when my chosen-nephews and chosen-niece were born); of the adventures we’ve had while traveling; of a wedding day or a significant anniversary; of just the funny, silly and sweet things we love to remember; of where we were when 9/11 happened.

In the future many of us will have stories to tell about what the COVID-19 pandemic was like.

Our stories help us understand who we are. And when they are seen through the lens of faith, our stories help us understand who God is, and what the church means to us.

Stories are desperately important in preaching. I can tell you some of the stories from my father’s sermons from decades ago. Sometimes, while listening to Dad preach, I would learn things about our family that I hadn’t known before.

Stories matter.

And it’s no surprise to me that so much of the Bible is narrative – is story. My favourite passages tend to be that way: the parable of the prodigal son, the birth narratives, the miracles.

In the musical, Hamilton, there’s a lyric that I love: “you have no control, who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” It’s a line that haunts me and that makes me grateful for the chances I get to tell my own story.

So I want to encourage you think about your own story. I especially want to encourage you to think about those moments when you can clearly see how God showed up in your story. Those moments when you just KNOW that God was at work.

THAT moment (or hopefully THOSE MOMENTS) is your testimony. The story of your faith. And it is powerful. Share it, you never know hoe God will use your story to impact another person’s life and faith.

Until tomorrow, dear friends, remember that even now, God is writing your story. It is never too late for Him to begin a new and triumphant chapter. Partner with Him to make it a good one!

So yesterday was all about learning from children. Today, I read this and learned from a more-advanced-in-years person:

I mean…doesn’t that just say it all? What is your headline today?

I think mine might be “Woman is encouraged by faith conversation with friend” or “Woman is grateful for virtual pilgrimage which encourages her to get her steps done” or “Woman is amazed at the things technology allows her to do.”

I know I mentioned it on Facebook, but for those of you who don’t have an account, I’m doing a virtual Camino de Santiago with a friend. We track our distances each day, and when we’ve made the distance – 480 mi!!! – we get a medal for our efforts. In the meantime, having this challenge before me means I’ve already been walking further and running more often than I was before signing up. Sometimes it’s the small things that help you get through some of the tough days. Here’s my view on the Camino today:

I hope your headline is something that helps you see the value to be found in the simple things. And the way that the news headlines don’t always convey the abundant life that Jesus intends for us to have.

Until tomorrow dear friends, remember that God writes the best headlines in our lives. Let’s turn to Him to know what really matters.